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Sunday, February 14, 2010

Names and Places

Since I have committed to this blog I need to start with the names and places I have been researching. Since my approach to this whole project is through my grandchildren's eyes, I have included their father and his family as well. The countries and names I am researching are: Germany - Burbach, Coan, Hepke, Sigler, and Sempsrott; Norway - Hansen; Ireland - Connery, Fleming; Scotland - Ferguson; Hungary - Gulyban; Sweden - Nilsson, Peterson, and Hanson.

Along the way I met a Norwegian who was writing a biography of my great-grandfather, a Norwegian composer, a unknown cousin in Wisconsin whose grandfather was the brother of my grandmother, and found relatives of my husbands. I have been to cemeteries and courthouses. My hope is to use this blog to flesh out the facts and dates I have accumulated into some sort of narrative for the benefit of my grandchildren and those of my brothers and sisters.

Included in this narrative, in no particular order, will be tales of soldiers, farmers, musicians, fishermen, priests, nuns, teachers, and others. Many of the families are large so there are many stories to tell.

Along with my personal research, I volunteer at the local family history center 4 hours per week and often check the message boards to see if I can help someone with a querie. I have started scanning photos and documents and creating digital files which I will move to a flash drive. I already have my data base on a flashdrive. I did find, to my dismay, that scrapbooks do not move to a new version of Family Tree Maker, so I will create file folders by family name and store photos and docs there. They can always be retrieved to add to printed books but will not be lost with the next up-grade.